The Annual Homeschool Panic

Hal was checking email tonight and ran across an email from one of our friends who seemed pretty wrought up about testing and something about curriculum. Hal said, "What's the matter? Everything okay?" I told him, "No problem, it's just annual homeschool panic."

It cracks me up how everyone I know thinks everybody else is calm, collected, with an orderly, peaceful school day. Their children rise at 5am, bring their mother breakfast in bed, do all their chores, and then get started on schoolwork right away! Everyone else's house is neat. Everyone else has a weekly menu that everyone loves. Everyone else has children who just adore to share their toys and books with their siblings. Baloney! Wait, other folks might spell it correctly: Balogna!

This time of year all the bright, shiny new catalogs come out - with pictures of clean, sweet children working hard at their schoolwork. It's time for conference, too - 50,000 SF of curriculum that must be better than what I'm using! Discontentment is rampant

The truth of the matter is that homeschooling is a front line spiritual battle. It's a battle over who will disciple our children and you can bet that the enemy will not relinquish them easily. After nine months of constant warfare - ineffective curriculum (sometimes something else is better :-), sibling squabbles, teaching the same lesson you've taught to five other children, housework that never even gets close to caught up, phones that ring constantly, learning difficulties, transcript woes, the family crisis that cost you weeks of schooling that has to be made up -- after all that, is it any wonder you are tired? Is it any wonder you are worn out? Is it any wonder that you are second guessing yourself? Usually by May, I can't stand to even think about homeschooling - it makes me feel too guilty! It's the Annual Homeschool Panic.

Here's my prescription: Go to your state homeschool conference. I know you don't want to - I don't either - I think it'll make me feel worse. It never does, though. Instead, I am reminded of why I am doing this. I am fed and equipped to start again. I get new ideas and see new things. I realize I'm not alone. Give it a try.